Part I – READING COMPREHENSION (A)

Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions in English. (35 points) קראו את הקטע שלפניכם וענו על השאלות שאחריו באנגלית. اقرأ القطعة التي أمامك وأجب عن الأسئلة التي تليها بالإنجليزية.

A Filter for Microplastics

I Today, many of the materials we use are harmful to humans. One of these materials is microplastics. These are tiny pieces of plastic less than five millimeters in length. Microplastics are found in many everyday products such as cosmetics, plastic bags, plastic bottles, and synthetic clothing. Contact with microplastics may increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, and hormone problems in humans.

II 5 Every year, millions of tons of microplastics reach the environment. One way this happens is through washing machines. There are microplastics in synthetic clothes, and when we wash them, microplastics enter the water in the machine. The water from washing machines is often used to water crops. Humans eat the crops, and in this way, microplastics reach their bodies and harm their health.

III 10 All washing machines have filters. However, their holes are too big to catch tiny microplastics. To help solve the problem of microplastics in washing machines, researchers from Germany have invented a special filter for catching microplastics. The researchers got the idea for the filter from how fish eat. Many fish swim with their mouths open, and water with plankton* enters their mouths. A filtering system inside the mouth keeps the plankton inside and filters out the water. Just like the 15 mouth of a fish, the new filter for microplastics has the shape of a funnel**. A net with very small holes catches the microplastics, and they move down the inside of the funnel, just like plankton move down a fish’s mouth. To keep the filter clean, the system frequently cleans out the microplastics from the bottom of the funnel. This is similar to how a fish swallows plankton.

*plankton פלנקטון - יצור ימי זעיר שמשמש כמזון עבור סוגים רבים של דגים - عوالق - كائن بحري صغير جدًا يُستخدم يعمل كغذاء للعديد من أنواع الأسماك **funnel משפך - قمع

IV The new system filters out 99% of the microplastics in a washing machine, and it is cheap to produce 20 because it does not have any complex mechanical parts. Right now, customers can buy the filter and add it to their washing machines. However, the researchers hope that appliance companies will start installing the filter in all their washing machines. This will surely improve everyone’s health.

Adapted from: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/219-2025

Answer the following questions in English. (35 points) ענו על השאלות הבאות באנגלית. أجب عن الأسئلة التالية بالإنجليزية